The Return
by JDPhoenix
Summary: The Jungle Fury team faces their greatest enemy yet: RJ.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No, I don't own PR.

AN: I never do this (at least anymore) but apparently I'm posting a story before finishing it in its entirety though I do know exactly what happens and I'm almost to the end. Let's hope it goes well. Also, no shipping. I'm trying really hard to keep shipping out of this darned story (at least as far as the JF team is concerned).

This story takes place after The Blind Leading the Blind and before Pushed to the Edge.

**The Return**

**Chapter 1**

RJ should never have left the restaurant. He went out to restock on his favorite brand of sugary cereal and ended up trapped -- not in any sort of dangerous sense, but he couldn't get past third street where the Rangers were battling Camille and some Rinshis. RJ could always use some of his Pai Zhuq skills to get past the battle but that would probably mean getting pulled in. He contented himself with sitting behind a car and watching his cubs in the car's mirrors while eating cereal straight from the box. Theo was incorporating the fan techniques he'd learned from Master Swoop to disarm the Rinshis, Lily was using her speed to knock the Rinishis down, and Casey was -- fighting Rinshis? Where was Camille? RJ jumped to his feet scanning the area quickly. There she was, on a ledge several stories up, watching the movements of the Red Ranger. She pulled one hand from behind her back and RJ paled. She held a pulsating orb, RJ could feel the power emanating from it even two hundred yards away. If Casey survived, the effects would be disastrous. RJ did the only thing he could do: he raced across the street and leapt in front of his cub just as the blast hit.

He only vaguely registered Casey's voice calling his name as the energy struck. It went through his skin, his muscles, his veins, and into his very core. He could feel the energy ripping through him, searching for something. Like a mess of vines it dove deep within his body, his soul, until it reached its goal. In his mind's eye RJ saw a wicked black mask, when the energy caught its scent it dove straight for it, infusing it with power. The mask's eyes opened in a flash of light and RJ felt himself slipping away. All of this had taken mere seconds, he realized as he fell into Casey's arms.

Camille was saying something about letting the rangers deal with their wounded. Lily and Theo were by his side in seconds. He let them carry him back to the loft. The mask was awake and the energy Camille had shot at him was feeding it, provoking it. RJ had never felt this kind of pain before. Deep within his soul there was a war going on and he couldn't help but feel that he was going to lose.

ooo

"He fell, Fran," Theo was saying, "he just needs some rest."

Casey tried to be proud of his friend's ability to create a good cover story, but he was too worried about RJ. He and Lily carried the man between them up the stairs. She kept saying reassuring things to him, though Casey was fairly certain he'd passed out on the battlefield. When they reached the top of the steps Lily said, "Go get him some water, I'll be fine."

Casey nodded and gently shifted his share of the weight to Lily's shoulder. The girl was small, but she was stronger than most men. Casey had just turned on the water when he heard a growl and a scuffle and Lily's cry. He turned swiftly to see RJ on all fours beneath the basket ball hoop and Lily on the ground beside RJ's chair. Casey dropped the glass and raced to her side.

"Are you all right?" he asked, helping her up.

"Fine," she said, "it's RJ I'm worried about. Look at him, he's growling at his chair!"

"Come on, RJ," Casey said, bending down and taking on a baby talk sort of tone, as if he were talking to an animal, "come sit in the nice chair."

RJ's eyes flashed gold.

Casey and Lily jumped back as if shocked.

"That's new," she said.

"Oh, yeah. You don't think they made his wolf spirit dominant, do you?"

"That's what it looks like," Lily said. "Come on, we at least need to get him to a bed."

Theo came up the stairs at just that moment and took in the scene. "We don't want to frighten him," he said. "Only one of us should get close to him."

Lily was stepping forward before either boy could react.

"Stupid mothering instinct," Theo muttered.

Lily ignored him. She held out a hand to give RJ her scent so he would know she meant no harm and she knelt low so that she wouldn't seem dangerous. "Come on, that's right, it's just Lily." She managed to get an arm around his shoulders and help him stand. Theo sighed in relief and moved quietly around the side of the room to RJ's door, which he opened.

Lily continued to speak in slow, calming tones. "All right, let's just get you in bed, RJ."

Casey saw RJ's eyes widen and knew, but it was too late for him to do anything by yell, "Lily!"

RJ spun, slashing at Lily with one hand. Casey raced across the room, catching her as she fell. He kept his eyes on RJ as the smell of blood filled his nose. RJ finished his turn, facing them, hackles up. His expression changed when he saw Lily and Casey staring at him in fear. He closed his eyes tightly and put his hands to his head.

"Lily," he said, falling back. "I need you -- to go to the military base -- just outside -- Turtle Cove." Each word he said was a huge effort and it was all his students could do to watch him in his internal struggle. "Ask for Taylor Earheart -- tell whatever lie you have to -- to get in. Say you're her sister." He looked up at them between his fingers and gave something between a smile and a grimace. "You sort of look like her. Tell her I need Shayla. Tell her I never found the chain. Casey, stitch up Lily's arm as best you can. You're in charge of JKP while I'm -- like this." He winced and closed his eyes. "Theo! My chair, rip off the cloth backing."

"What?" Theo gasped.

"Do it!" RJ yelled in a tone that could not be denied.

Theo rushed to the chair and -- with an expression usually reserved for executioners -- ripped the backing off.

"Do you see it?" RJ asked.

Theo's eyes widened. "Yes," he said, reaching forward. Inside the chair was a metal circle, like a collar. There were Celtic designs all around it. Theo lifted it off its wooden studs and almost dropped it, it was so heavy.

"Put it on me," RJ said.

"RJ," Casey began.

RJ looked up at him, his eyes pleading. "Casey, it's the only thing --" he couldn't finish but Casey nodded to Theo. Theo stepped forward and brought the collar down over RJ's head. There was a moment -- as the collar passed his eyes -- when he lashed out and Theo feared he would be bitten. He dropped the collar the rest of the way and reeled back. The collar fell and stopped just before hitting RJ's shoulders. It shrunk quickly to fit around his neck. The savage behavior stopped, RJ's eyes glazed over, and he passed out.

"RJ!" Lily cried, rushing forward. Casey caught her by the shoulders and pulled her back. "It's hurting him," she protested. "We have to get it off."

"No," Casey said firmly. "We do exactly what he said. Theo, go pack some food for Lily and then help Fran with the rush."

Theo didn't move. He stayed standing over RJ, watching as his chest slowly rose and fell.

"Theo!" Casey barked.

Theo jumped and hurried off. Casey led Lily to the kitchen area and sat her on the counter. She kept her eyes on RJ's prone form the whole time. Casey pulled the first aid kit from beneath the sink and quickly found the needle.

"This might hurt," he said, wiping away the blood and disinfecting the claw marks. They were actually pretty even cuts and Casey couldn't help but wonder how RJ, a human, could make them.

Lily winced, but didn't cry out, a fact for which they were both grateful.

"He'll be fine," Casey said when he started on the second wound. "It's RJ, he'll be back to his old self in no time."

Lily looked down at Casey. "He told Theo to put a magical collar around his neck and passed out, he tried to kill me, he was acting like an animal, and he _won't go near his chair_!"

"You know," Casey said, not rising to her baiting tone, "the chair thing was probably because of the collar. I bet he'll be fine with it now."

Lily relaxed a bit. "I guess you're right. Ow!"

"Sorry," Casey said, walking to the stove and putting the needle in a flame before throwing it out. "You'd better get going. You can't use your speed or a ninja streak with that wound or the stitches will pop."

Lily hopped off the counter and stepped almost shyly up to Casey. "Promise you'll take care of him."

Casey put his hands on her shoulders. "Like he was my master," he joked. "Now hurry. You can take the delivery van."

"It broke down this morning, remember?"

Casey sighed. "Public transportation it is."

ooo

"What have you done?" Carnisoar cried the second Camille reappeared before Dai Shi's throne.

Camille winced. "I was trying to follow your orders," she said, directing her words to Dai Shi himself, "but that human got in the way. What does it matter though? Surely the master is a better warrior than the Rangers."

"We know the Red Ranger," Carnisoar said, "we know his weaknesses, his strengths; we know what it will take to keep him serving us. We know next to nothing about the man. If you had hit the Red Ranger I would have expected him to feel empowered by the blast but the man had to be carried off the battlefield. Even if he does turn to us, what good is a warrior who can't even walk?"

"Well," Camille said, backing away slowly, "I can always try again to --"

"No!" Carnisoar roared, sending a bolt of energy at her. "Do you have any idea the power it took to create that first sphere?"

Camille ducked behind a pillar. "Carnisoar," she said, "I will bring you the rangers' master and he will make a fine warrior. I promise."

"He had better," Carnisoar said as Camille hurried away.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Return**

**Chapter 2**

Lily had tried using her superspeed, despite Casey's pronouncement that she wouldn't be able to. The second she did her arm started aching. When she stopped and looked down she saw that the cuts were growing red and the stitches were close to popping. She sighed and hiked up to the train station. It would be a full day's ride down to Turtle Cove. Casey had raided the cash register, taking out everything bigger than a ten to make sure she'd have enough money for the trip, and Lily had grabbed her tip jar from beneath her bed. In it she kept every extra cent her customers felt they owed her and today it was going to be put to good use. It jingled lightly at the bottom of the pack she wore. She'd brought a blanket, a change of clothes, a first aid kit, and the large pack of food Theo had given her -- better to be prepared than not, she reminded herself as she shifted the weight. She'd somehow managed to get out of the restaurant before Fran could ask what was going on, she only hoped the boys could come up with a good excuse.

"One for Turtle Cove," Lily said when she reached the counter at the train station.

"Can I see your ID?" the teller asked kindly.

Lily dug in her pockets, wincing as the fabric of her shirt scraped across her wound.

"Are you all right?" the teller asked, peeking over the counter to get a better look.

"Fine," Lily said quickly, angling her arm so the scratches weren't so noticeable. "How much is it?"

"Fifty-eight," the woman said. "You'll have to transfer in San Angeles. You can ask one of the conductors for help if you need it."

Lily counted out the bills and handed them over. She still had forty dollars and the money in her tip jar, but if she had to take the train back up or the trip took too long -- she didn't think about it any farther. RJ needed her to stay positive, to keep her mind focused on her task. She just really wished she knew what exactly her task was.

She barely managed to reach the platform before the train arrived and she hurried to find a seat to herself. Before stowing her pack in the overhead compartment she pulled her first aid kit out and wrapped her stitches in gauze. If anyone asked she could say she had a rash or a burn or something -- just so long as no one saw the claw marks. She settled into her seat then and, in an effort to keep herself from obsessively worrying about RJ, began to meditate. But that quickly turned into a well deserved sleep.

* * *

Casey watched RJ all night, only venturing down into the pizza parlor every hour or so in an effort to obey RJ's order. He always found himself mounting the stairs again after only a few minutes. He just couldn't bear to take his eyes off his master when he was so vulnerable. Theo, luckily for all of them, was good at working through his feelings and focusing on the task at hand. Casey made a mental note to thank Master Swoop for that later.

RJ was curled up like a dog on his chair and he dreaming like one too. He would growl and snap at some unseen animal then move his arms and legs like he was running. It was really beginning to scare Casey. Theo came upstairs just after eleven and suggested Casey get some sleep before grabbing a sleeping back and taking over Lily's floor. The two boys usually slept on hammocks in the main room while RJ and Lily took the bedrooms. As Theo put it, there was no point in a perfectly good bedroom going to waste, even if he couldn't sleep on the bed. Casey nodded and let him go. He would occasionally move; sometimes he'd sit on one of the yoga mats, sometimes in the beanbag chairs, sometimes on the kitchen counter. But at midnight he was sitting on the step that ran around the edge of the training area and he had a perfectly good view of RJ in the moonlight when he awoke.

"Casey," RJ said, his voice calm, not at all like he'd just slept for seven hours after being seriously injured.

"RJ," Casey said, standing to rush over.

"No!" RJ said, holding out an arm and sitting up himself. Casey slowly returned to his seat, but stayed ready in case RJ needed him. RJ opened his eyes slowly and Casey was shocked by the yellow glow. "He must hate me," RJ muttered.

"Who?"

"Jarrod. I tried to kill it often enough."

"Kill what?"

"The Lion of course. You must hate me too. I almost did kill her and her guardian. If it hadn't been for --" RJ's eyes widened and a pained look came on his face. He put his head in his hands. "Why did I do this? Why did I think I could do what he did?"

"Do what who did?" Casey asked. He was on his knees, inching slowly closer to RJ.

RJ's head snapped up and he looked straight into Casey's eyes. "I'll kill you, you know. Just like the rest of them."

"RJ," Casey said quietly, trying to keep the tremor of fear out of his voice, "Lily's gone to get Taylor. Soon they'll be back with that Shayla person."

RJ chuckled darkly. "Shayla can't help me. He was the one who listened to her. He never forgot her, never stopped pining over her, even thousands of years later. I never cared."

"Then why did you tell Lily to get her?"

"Because I was afraid -- like you are."

Casey's eyes widened and he didn't have time to react before RJ was lunging for him, hands out like claws, teeth bared. A whirring sound filled the air and Theo's fan struck RJ in the back, sending him sprawling. Casey hurried to his feet as Theo came up behind him.

"The collar must weaken him," Theo said, watching the unconscious RJ. "That's the only reason I was able to beat him at all."

"Theo," Casey said, pulling his friend out of RJ's hearing, "has anything like this happened before -- at the academy?"

"Not that I know of. I'm sure he'll be fine, Case. He knew what needed to be done with the collar and sending Lily and all. He was prepared for this, so there has to be a way to fix it."

"I hope so."

"Come on, let's get to bed."

Casey grabbed a sleeping bad and headed downstairs, saying something about wanting to watch for burglars. Theo rolled his eyes, but let the Tiger go and headed into his own room. Once Casey's footsteps had ceased and Theo's breathing evened out, Camille stepped forward. She'd been standing still for the past six hours, watching that idiot Red Ranger move aimlessly about. She was certain the boy would be back soon and so hurried across the room. She knelt beside RJ and pulled his shaggy hair back to examine the collar around his neck. She could feel the ancient energy pulsing from it. It would be difficult to break. She grasped it between her fingers and pulled. She was trying to pull him up, but found that the collar expanded. She easily lifted it over his head and his eyes flashed open. He leapt to his feet and scampered away from her.

"Now, why didn't you just do that yourself?" Camille asked, examining the inscriptions on the collar. She looked up at him and her eyes lit up. The evil energy coming from him was much greater than she ever would have thought. "Well," she said, "who knew you would be so -- evil?"

"You," RJ said, eying the collar. "You did blast me with a spell to release my darker half."

"It was meant for the Red Ranger."

RJ grinned. "I'm better."

"I can see that." Camille swung the collar to the side and watched RJ's eyes follow it. "You don't like this thing, do you?"

"It slows down my natural instincts, makes it harder for me to think and act. Get rid of it."

"No," Camille said pleasantly, "I don't think I will. Let's just call it insurance."

RJ growled, but cut off quickly as footsteps echoed up the stairs.

"Get back on the floor." She disappeared.

RJ grudgingly did as she said and waited.

Casey came quietly up the steps. He was exhausted, but he couldn't just leave RJ all alone up here. He paused when he entered the room, watching RJ sleep. Whatever was wrong with him, they would fix it -- they had to.

"Hello, Ranger," a voice hissed in his ear. Casey felt a strong arm wrap around his shoulders, pressing him up against his captor.

"Camille," Casey growled, acutely aware of his injured master not ten feet away. "Haven't you done enough damage today?"

"No," Camille said, holding the collar up with her free hand, "I really don't think I have. What about you, RJ?"

Casey's eyes widened as RJ rose to his feet, an evil glint in his eye.

"Don't call me that," RJ snapped.

Camille raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

RJ stepped slowly forward and Casey couldn't quite stop himself from shuddering as RJ sniffed him. "The last time I met a Tiger, it was a girl. But I think you'll be just as appetizing."

Casey paled as he looked into RJ's eyes. There was something there, some malevolence that he had never seen before. He could feel it watching him, hunting him. But he was already caught and there was no chance of escape. As it swallowed him whole Casey realized that the distant screams he heard were his own.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I probably should have apologized for the shortness of the chapters earlier. They're all pretty much like this but you've been getting one a day so you really shouldn't complain (not that anyone has, I just feel bad).

**The Return**

**Chapter 3**

Lily jumped with a small cry.

"Sorry, miss," the elderly conductor said with a kind smile, "but this is your stop."

Lily sighed, feeling the train slow down. She could feel the concerned looks from her fellow passengers but ignored them, she had more important things to worry about.

"Do you need any help?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "Thank you though." She stood, feeling her sore muscles protest. They wanted more sleep -- a lot more sleep.

"Are you all right?" the conductor asked, eyeing her arm.

Lily looked down. Her forearm was swollen slightly and she needed to change the bandages.

"I'm fine," she said, pulling her backpack from the shelf above her seat and headed downstairs.

When the train stopped she hurried into the station. She was lucky, the station was fairly new and had family bathrooms for people with small children. She rushed into one of them, telling herself it was for the best since she anyone who saw her in the normal bathroom would call the police, after they puked of course. She started by unwrapping her arm. The bandages were bloody, but that was her own fault for trying to use her speed. She could see that Casey's stitching was holding together well and she silently thanked him and whoever had taught him, she'd have to ask him about that when this was all over. She took some alcohol from her first aid kit and held her arm over the sink as she cleaned the cuts. There was nothing she could do about the swelling and she could only hope it wasn't becoming infected. As she slowly wrapped a new bandage around her arm she wondered how the boys were doing. She sincerely hoped that neither of them were hurt. Once her injury was taken care of she quickly changed clothes. She dearly wanted a shower but this was the best she could manage. She made sure her old bandages were well hidden in the trash can before leaving, she didn't want any small children freaking out.

She looked around the bustling station. Even at six in the morning things were hectic around here. A sign on the far wall told her the upcoming arrivals and departures. She only had five minutes to buy a ticket and run down to the bus station if she was going to get to the base any time before noon. She ran through the station, wincing as her arm protested the movement. Whatever was wrong with RJ, she was sure there wasn't much time.

* * *

Camille had not been comfortable with the way things were going ever since Dai Shi returned. He ignored her far more than was acceptable, he ignored his own shortcomings but picked on ever insignificant one of hers, he had brought Carnisoar into their ranks, and now he was talking to the ranger's master. That last one wouldn't have bothered her several hours ago when she had thought the human was under the influence of Carnisoar's spell, but after what happened last night…. She closed her eyes, trying to shut out the Red Ranger's screams, but the moment she did she saw his face when he fell. She had never seen anything like it and dearly hoped she never would again.

She shook herself and watched Dai Shi. Ever since she'd brought the human he'd been on edge. He had good reason to be. The evil coming from the human wasn't the result of any spell, it was old and strong. Whatever it was, wherever it had come from, it was terrifying.

"You will fight with us," Dai Shi said.

RJ smirked. "I fight with no one."

Carnisoar shot Camille a glare from his place behind Dai Shi's throne. Camille winced and backed further behind her usual hiding column.

"But I will destroy the rangers," RJ continued.

"He already defeated the Red Ranger," Camille said quickly.

"Really?" Dai Shi asked, torn between anger and interest.

"He tasted delicious," RJ said, a growl in the back of his throat.

Camille winced, trying to force the memory down once more. Dai Shi allowed the human to leave. When the heavy doors had closed, Dai Shi appeared beside Camille and dug his claws into her arm.

"Ow!" she cried before she could stop herself.

"What did he do to the Red Ranger?" Dai Shi asked, his voice low.

"I- I don't know -- exactly. But when the Red Ranger fell -- he was still alive but his eyes looked dead."

"You're sure he was alive?"

"Yes, his heart was beating and his chest was still rising and falling." Camille ducked her head, not wanting Dai Shi to see the fear or sadness in her eyes. She usually wouldn't feel pity for one of the rangers, but -- she had lied to Dai Shi. She knew exactly what had happened to the Red Ranger and no one deserved that kind of fate.

Eric Meyers was a patient man. He was a fair man. He was a strong man. He was a reasonable man. But he was in no way a good man. At least, that was what he decided as he stood on the side of the highway, bent over the open back of his van. They had agreed long ago that he would do this, that he would be the one to handle this. And he had taken some pride in that because it showed that he was a good man, especially after the long months Taylor had to go it alone. Oh yeah, he was a saint. A saint who fully intended to have a long, drawn out conversation with his wife concerning the terms of their marriage.

A perfectly timed giggle from the van made Eric smile.

"Yeah," he said, "you're right, she'd kill me. And where would that leave the two of --"

Eric stopped and whirled around at the sound of a twig cracking behind him. He dropped his defensive stance when he saw a surprised girl with a bandaged arm and an oversized backpack.

"Sorry," he said.

The girl nodded but just continued on her way. Eric looked around. The highway was relatively busy. The cars that whizzed by stirred up the fallen leaves scattered on the roadside. The wild trees and bushes that dominated the landscape swayed in the artificial wind. Wherever the girl was going she'd get skin cancer and a snake bite by the time she got there -- and possibly get assaulted by some idiot college kids.

"Hey!" he called. She was just reached the front end of the minivan but turned to regard him from behind her sunglasses. "How about a ride?"

One of her eyebrows lifted gracefully but she shook her head.

"Come on," he said, keeping an eye on the trunk, "what kind of psychopathic killer drives around in a minivan with a giant stuffed t-rex in the back and wears a shirt covered in creamed carrots, spit up, and what I hope to God is creamed prunes."

The girl giggled.

"I'll take that as a yes," Eric said. He bent down to lift Eli from the changing blanket and the girl came up behind him. "You can put your stuff back here after I --" The girl quickly folded the blankets and moved them to the side. "Thanks," Eric said, somehow balancing the baby and tying the used diaper up in a plastic bag. "Jump in."

Once Eli was buckled in beside his brother and Eric was sitting in his own seat he turned to the girl.

"So, do you have a name?"

"Lily," she said with a smile, removing her sunglasses.

"Eric," he said, shaking her hand. "Where are you heading, Lily?"

"To see my sister," she said, her voice breaking slightly. "She's at the air force base. I took the bus as far as it would go, but they're not allowed any closer to the base."

Eric pulled out onto the road carefully. He was stopped from asking another question by a cry from the backseat. He laughed. "This is Eli and Cooper."

Lily turned half around and smiled at the two boys. "Hi," she said, her voice rising an octave. "How are you?" she asked reaching back and wincing as her arm brushed the top of the seat.

"What happened?" Eric asked, noting her bandages.

"Just an accident. It's nothing."

"It looks like more than that. When we get off the highway we should stop and I'll take a look at it. I've got a first aid kit in the back and I'm a pretty handy medic when the occasion calls for it."

"No," Lily said firmly, "I'll be fine."

Eric looked sidelong at her but decided to drop the issue. "You know, my wife used to be stationed at this air force base, maybe I've met your sister. What's her name?"

"Taylor Earheart."

Eric jerked the wheel to the right as hard as he could. The car swung around and only stopped when it was resting on the side of the road, facing the opposite direction. Eric ignored the honks from other cars and his son's cries of protest. He pulled his quantum blaster 2.0 from beneath his seat and leveled it at Lily's head.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Return**

**Chapter 4**

Lily wasn't entirely sure what to do. Usually, if she'd been trapped in a car with a gun to her head she'd have attacked her assailant with every ounce of power she had, but there were two small children in the backseat. What kind of crazy man would threaten to shoot a girl while his sons watched? But then -- what if they weren't his sons? Lily was suddenly very certain she had gotten into a car with a psychopath, possibly one who had murdered these poor boy's parents. She narrowed her eyes and called on her animal spirit. Just as the energy welled up within her she was thrown from the car by some force. She landed just short of the road where cars were driving quickly past. She pushed herself up on her elbows to see two small spirit bear cubs, one white and one black, growling at her from her seat.

Eric frowned at the cubs and turned to the backseat.

"Boys," he said firmly, "you know what your mother said."

One of the children laughed and clapped his hands while the two cubs disappeared. Lily looked up at Eric in confusion. He was still aiming for her head.

"You want to tell me who you really are?" he asked.

"What --?"

"Taylor Earheart," he said almost gently, "is my wife."

Lily moaned and fell back, putting her hands over her face.

"Listen," she said when she'd gotten that out of her system, "I'm a student from the Pai Zhuq academy. My master, who isn't at the academy, got hit with this weird blast yesterday and he told me to come here, find Taylor, and tell her that he didn't find the chain and that he needs Shayla. I don't know what any of that means but --"

"Get in!" Eric yelled, shifting the van into gear.

"What?" Lily demanded, rushing to her feet but stopping just short of entering the crazy man's car again.

"RJ! RJ got hit with a blast and now he's acting weird, right?"

"Yeah, he's even wearing a collar --"

"Shit! Don't tell Taylor I said that in front of the boys. Get in already!"

No one could ignore that tone of voice. Lily leapt into the car and it leapt back onto the road. Lily bit back a scream as they drove in the wrong direction across four lanes of traffic before crossing the gravel divider and entering the proper flow. Eric flicked a switch on the dashboard and sirens started going off. The boys laughed. Lily wondered what she'd gotten herself into.

Eric pulled out his cell phone and hit a button.

"Taylor," he said, "I've got a girl here," he turned to look her over once, "presumably a Yellow, who says that RJ is going crazy. I'm bringing the boys to Silver Guardian HQ, along with the girl. Don't go flying off to a mythical floating island until I get there."

"Mythical floating island?" Lily asked.

Eric let out a harsh chuckle as he closed the phone. "You go to the Pai Zhuq academy and you think the floating island is weird?"

"Touché. What did you mean when you said I was yellow?"

"Yellow Ranger."

Lily let out a half-hearted laugh that didn't fool Eric for a second. She frowned. "How did you know?"

"RJ got your morphers from a woman named Angela Rawlings, she's a scientist with the Lightspeed team. RJ knew Taylor, Taylor knew me, I knew Lightspeed."

Lily nodded, remembering what RJ had told them when he'd given them the morphers. "What's happening to him?"

Eric gripped the wheel tightly. "I can't be sure, not without more information." He paused, pulling off the highway and onto more residential roads. "He did that to your arm, didn't he?"

"He wasn't himself," she said quietly.

"Yes, he was," Eric said darkly as he pulled into Silver Guardian headquarters. A blonde woman rushed out of the doors as soon as they parked.

"What happened to him?" she asked Lily, leaning in Eric's window.

Lily quickly related the previous day's events and the woman nodded darkly. She turned to Eric when Lily had finished. "Drop the kids off with Wes and then get her back to RJ. We'll get Shayla." She motioned for Lily to get out of the van. "Do you know where Merrick is?" she asked Eric.

"No idea."

She muttered something that sounded like "damn sixths" and told Eric not to rush into anything before hurrying away, Lily following close behind.

"I'm guessing you're Taylor," Lily said. She was daunted by the pristine Silver Guardian facility. It was almost like walking into a hospital, but with guns instead of sick people.

"Yeah," Taylor said, ignoring the armed guards they passed and smiling back at Lily. "Didn't RJ tell you I was a bitch?"

"He was sort of busy fighting off insanity. What's wrong with him anyway?"

Taylor paused and turned back to her. "He didn't tell you anything about his past?"

"No, nothing. It took us more than a month to figure out he even had a wolf spirit."

Taylor nodded to herself. "Assuming we can sort all of this out before anything too horrible happens, I'd prefer to let RJ tell you himself." She reached out and rested a comforting hand on Lily's shoulder. "It's not that I don't want you to be prepared, but he's worked so hard -- I think he deserves this at least." She dropped her arm and continued down the hall, Lily rushing to catch up. "But you should know, RJ is extremely dangerous."

"I've seen him fight," Lily said as if it should be obvious.

"You've seen him fight when he was trying to hide who he was. Now that he's evil there won't be anything holding him back. He was one of the most terrifying enemies I ever faced. You need to be careful."

"Wait," Lily said as Taylor stepped into an elevator, "you fought RJ? So he was evil recently?"

"Depends on your definition of 'recently.'" Taylor held the door open, pointedly raising her eyebrow every time it beeped angrily at her but Lily didn't budge.

"Within the past ten years recently."

Taylor sighed. "Still depends on your definition."

"How does it--?"

Taylor grabbed Lily's good arm and yanked her inside the elevator before hitting one of the more than twenty unmarked buttons on the wall. "My husband was a member of Time Force, the ranger team, not the future crime fighting organization. That should give you some indication of how."

"Ow!" Lily said, rubbing her ears. They had popped.

"Sorry, I forgot to warn you." She pulled a pack of gum from her pocket. "You might want to take this, we'll be going up a lot farther and faster in a few minutes."

Lily would have asked what she meant but bit her tongue when the doors slid open to reveal a large hanger and a jet in the middle of it.

"Let's get you suited up," Taylor said.

Lily gulped, thinking that if she'd been made for flying her spirit would have been a bird.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Return**

**Chapter 5**

He missed the running. He hadn't allowed himself to indulge since the cubs had come but now he was free to run through the woods for hours on end. One of the cubs was already dead, or as good as, another was injured, and the third would be easy to defeat without his comrades. It was only a matter of time, then he could move on to fight his old enemies. They were separated and would be easy prey. Though, he vaguely remembered sending the girl in search of one of them. No matter, the sooner he killed them, the better.

Stop it!

He stumbled, falling to his knees on the leaf strewn path. What was that? He'd never felt anything like that voice, not even when he'd been just a spirit possessing another's body. It wasn't his, he knew that, but it was familiar. He waited, wondering if it would come again.

"What are you doing?" Camille asked, appearing before him.

He looked up, wincing at the way the sun shone down around her, and stood. He growled and passed her by.

"Hold it," she said, giving a fairly good impression of bravery. "Did you forget about this?"

He whirled to see the collar hanging delicately from her hand.

"I want you to destroy the rangers."

He huffed and turned away. "Of course I'm going to destroy the rangers."

"With me," she said, emphasizing the words.

He froze. "No."

"Do you want me to put this back on you?"

In an instant he was standing over her, one hand around her waist to keep her from running and the other dangerously close to her neck. "As if you could," he growled. He breathed deep, taking in her scent. "Your kind may taste disgusting, but I will eat you like I did the Tiger if you push me." He shoved her back into a tree and she fought to control her breathing.

"What about Dai Shi?" she called as he walked away.

He let out a harsh laugh. "His kind do taste good."

Camille glared after him. Dai Shi didn't want to fight him and Carnisoar would probably be happy with the rangers' deaths. If she was going to protect her master she was going to have to do something desperate.

* * *

"Is it over yet?" Lily asked, her eyes firmly shut.

"No," Taylor laughed, "but I thought you might like to see this."

Lily peeked one eye open and gasped, quickly focusing all her ocular faculties on the sight before her. A giant eagle was flying beside them and far in the distance was an island, floating on the clouds.

"Welcome to the Animarium," Taylor said as she began landing procedures.

"It's beautiful. But why are we here?"

"This is where Shayla lives."

"Of course it is."

Taylor chuckled. "The Yellow Eagle is my zord. Instead of having animal spirits like you do, we're bound to the animals as their guardians."

"What do you mean by 'bound'?"

"You're a human with the spirit of a cheetah, I'm a human with a spiritual connection to an eagle. It's like -- we're really good friends or even sisters. I really can't describe it better than that. It drives Eric crazy though."

"Why?"

"When he's late getting home I send eagles to look for him."

Lily braced herself as the plane landed and breathed a sigh of relief when Taylor switched off the engine. Taylor helped her out and led her through the thick foliage. Walking here reminded Lily of off campus training exercises at the academy, especially when they'd teamed up with students from the elemental ninja academies.

"Taylor!" a woman cried and Lily's eyes widened as a woman in a white dress rushed through the trees. She and Taylor embraced.

"This," Taylor said, stepping aside, "is Lily. Lily, this is Princess Shayla."

"Princess?" Lily asked in surprise. She attempted to curtsey but Shayla laughed lightly and stopped her.

"Please don't." Lily couldn't help but like the woman who smiled at her so warmly. "I can sense the cheetah within you."

Lily nodded and her expression fell. "My friend sent me."

"RJ," Taylor provided, "he's been turned evil."

"Turned?" Shayla echoed. "As in forced?"

Taylor nodded.

"Then we still have a chance." She smiled thinly at Lily. "I promise you, we will do everything in our power to help RJ. Where is he now?"

"Ocean Bluff. We took him home after he was injured."

Shayla nodded and smiled at Taylor. "Do you think the Eagle would mind taking us there?"

There was a loud cry of assent from above as the Eagle flew overhead.

"Let's go," Lily said.

* * *

Eric pulled up to Jungle Karma Pizza, smiling at how much the place had improved since the first time he'd seen it. It used to be a run down vacant building with crumbling walls and a serious rat problem. RJ had really turned it around. Eric just hoped RJ would get to see it thriving again. He stepped inside and stepped behind the counter before the waitress could notice him.

"Whoa!" a young boy said when he entered the kitchen. "Who are you?"

Eric flashed his badge. "Silver Guardian. I'm here to see RJ."

"Um, RJ's not feeling too well."

"That's why I'm here." Eric pushed past him and headed up the stairs. The boy jumped up, barring his path. "Listen, kid, I don't want to beat your ass, but I will."

The boy smirked. "Bring it."

Eric started with a punch, just to get the boy moving. When the boy tried to counter with a kick, Eric grabbed his leg and the front of his shirt and pushed him back over the railing. He held him upside-down, one arm around his leg to keep him steady, the other still clutching his JKP shirt. He smiled. "Like I said." The boy stared up at him with wide eyes. Eric shook his head and lifted him back over, setting him behind him on the steps. The boy shook himself, catching up with Eric just as he entered the loft.

"Where is he?" Eric asked.

"I told you," the boy said through gritted teeth.

"Theo!" Lily yelled, rushing up the stairs, Taylor and Shayla close behind her. She gave Theo a quick hug while looking eagerly around. "Where's RJ?" she asked.

"Lily!" Theo cried. "Who are these people?"

Introductions were quickly made and Theo sighed. "RJ's not here," he said sadly.

"What?" all four of them yelled.

"He disappeared in the middle of the night."

Lily sat down hard on the floor. "Wait," she said after a minute, "where's Casey?"

Theo's eyes grew dark and he nodded towards Lily's room. Lily jumped up and, ignoring her arm, raced across the room in a yellow blur. The others followed close behind. Lily stood beside the bed, staring down into Casey's lifeless eyes.

"What happened to him?" she asked quietly when she heard the others come in behind her.

"I don't know," Theo said, his voice breaking. "I woke up and he was screaming. By the time I got out of my sleeping bag RJ was gone and Casey was on the floor -- like this."

Shayla laid a hand on Casey's forehead. "He is not dead," she said quietly.

"Then why does he look like --?" Lily's voice cracked and she couldn't say anymore. His eyes were staring up at nothing the way a dead body's did and it was terrifying her.

"He's breathing and his heart still beats. His soul is gone."

"How is that possible?" Theo asked.

Before anyone could answer an alarm went off in the main room.

Lily and Theo exchanged haggard looks.

"We'll come with you," Eric said, putting a hand on Theo's shoulder. Theo nodded and the four of them hurried out, leaving Shayla to watch over Casey's body.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Return**

**Chapter 6**

The rangers rushed across town, finding themselves on top of a skyscraper.

"Where's Camille?" Lily asked, trying to ignore the tight spandex on her arm.

"She's not here."

Lily's stomach dropped and she whirled. The eyes staring down at her, like the voice, was RJ's, but the coldness behind it made Lily's blood stand still.

"RJ?" Theo asked.

His eyes narrowed and they flashed a dangerous yellow. "That is not my name."

"Zen-Aku," Taylor said, stepping forward and pushing the cubs back. "Long time no see."

"Did you miss me?" Zen-Aku asked, his lips curling into a wicked smile.

"Not this side of you," Eric said. "Why are you doing this? You worked so hard."

Zen-Aku ignored him. "How are the kids? I hope you found a good babysitter to watch them while you're here tracking me down."

"Stay away from my children," Taylor said levelly. Theo would later tell Lily that he heard Eric growl.

Zen-Aku smirked and rushed forward, his curved blade materializing in his hands. Taylor and Eric leapt to the sides, pushing Lily and Theo behind them as they did. Zen-Aku turned towards the girls, easily continuing his attack. Taylor used her dagger to block a high strike while Eric pulled out his quantum blaster 2.0 and shot RJ in the back. RJ staggered and whirled. Before anyone could stop him he rammed straight into Eric, their combined momentum sending them both over the edge of the building.

"Eric!" Taylor cried as she and the others rushed to watch the descent. Luckily, her connection with Yellow Eagle really was something since the zord flew in, narrowly avoiding scraping the sides of the tight buildings with her wings, and caught the men, who were still fighting despite their fall. Zen-Aku pushed Eric away and struck the Eagle with his blade before using his ninja streak to leap away. Taylor winced and the Eagle cried out when it was struck.

"Come on," Taylor said as the Eagle flew around the block before dropping Eric off. "There are a lot of things you need to know."

* * *

Shayla sat in RJ's chair. The two cubs had thought about telling her, but decided against it since she was a princess. Taylor and Eric had filled them in on Zen-Aku's history through the year 2003 and the second defeat of Master Org. Now it was Shayla's turn to tell them the rest of the story. The two sat cross-legged before her on their yoga mats, listening intently.

"Things went well for awhile," Shayla said, "Merrick and Zen-Aku traveled the country, helping those in need and thwarting evil where they could. But as time went on Zen-Aku became more and more depressed. He did not like who he had been and he could not separate the face he saw in the mirror from the horrible things he had done. So Merrick and Zen-Aku changed their goals. They now sought a way to help Zen-Aku."

"That's easy," Theo interrupted. "They just needed to change his appearance."

"No," Shayla said. "Zen-Aku needed to know that he could live a life not marred by evil. He wanted a second chance. And he was granted it. After more than a year of searching, Merrick contacted his fellow rangers for help. Eventually every ranger on the planet was seeking a way to help Zen-Aku. Katherine Hillard was the one to find it, ironic considering her connection to felines. The witch Rita Repulsa had caused the rangers no end of trouble before she reformed and became Mystic Mother, the defender of all good magic. Several rangers contacted her, willing to use the debts Mystic Mother owed them if it would help Zen-Aku. And all this despite never meeting him and knowing full well of his past."

Lily and Theo exchanged a look. Those were big spandex boots to fill.

"Mystic Mother granted Zen-Aku's request. She would turn him into a human infant with no memory of what he had been. But there were two stipulations. First, that Zen-Aku's memories had to resurface over time, there was no way to change that no matter the magic. And second, that he had to go back in time because Mystic Mother could see a point in the near future when Zen-Aku would be needed to defend the world and no child should have to bear such a burden."

"So," Lily said slowly, "Zen-Aku became RJ?"

Shayla nodded. "He was transformed and sent back in time. He was found by a Pai Zhuq master who became his father."

Taylor stepped forward. "We found him almost immediately after Mystic Mother cast the spell. Master Mao contacted us because RJ was becoming erratic and his power was unstable. He'd been remembering for years, since he was a small boy, but as he got older and his powers grew it became harder to ignore what he had once been."

Lily stood and crossed the room. "Fran must need help."

"Eric's helping her," Taylor said. Lily stopped and hugged herself, not quite knowing what to do with this information.

"Theo," Shayla said gently.

Theo looked up at her with dark eyes. "He was a monster," Theo said harshly as he climbed to his feet.

"Theo!" Lily cried, but her heart wasn't quite in it.

"He was! And he still is!" He gestured to Lily's room. "He did that, didn't he? He's the one who hurt Casey! What did he do to him, huh? How could he possibly do that to a person?"

A smooth voice from upstairs among the beanbag chairs said, "He ate his soul."

The four looked up to see Camille leaning against the railing, looking down at them. "Cute story," she said. "I suppose I should have recognized Zen-Aku, but like you said, he's changed."

"What are you doing here?" Theo asked, striking a defensive stance.

"I need your help," Camille said quickly, as if the words were a Band-Aid she needed to get out fast. "Zen-Aku is going to do to Dai Shi what he did to your friend. I can't allow that to happen."

"Dai Shi?" Shayla asked. "But he doesn't --"

Camille shook her head fiercely. "He's weak, he had to merge with a boy, Jarrod. His spirit is the Lion."

Taylor tensed while Shayla paled at the words.

"Why should we trust you?" Lily asked. "How do we know this isn't all some sort of trick?"

"If it was would I bring you this?" she asked, holding up the collar.

Shayla rose to her feet. "Lœðingr," she gasped.

"What the hell's a loothinger?" Theo asked.

"Lœðingr," Taylor sighed. "It's the collar the Norse gods used to bind Fenrir -- the first time, anyway."

Camille looked at the collar with newfound respect. "That explains a lot." She turned back to the rangers. "Are you going to accept my help or not? It isn't like I'm just doing this out of the -- urg, goodness -- of my heart, I'm benefiting just as much as you are."

Lily gave Taylor a small smile. "All right," the older woman said, "you're in. Now why don't you come on down here so we can strategize?"

As Camille daintily descended the steps Theo stormed past Taylor and Lily.

"Theo!" Lily called.

"No way!" Theo said. "Teaming up with our enemy to help our other enemy? And for what? For Zen-Aku?" He said the name like a curse and Lily pulled back a step. "He's a monster, Lil, he doesn't deserve our help, no matter what else he's done. I'm out of here and if you're smart, you'll come with me."

"Master Mao sent us to RJ!" Lily cried, real tears threatening to spill over. "He knew what he was and he still sent us to him!"

"Master Mao was wrong," Theo said harshly. He let his gaze drift from Lily to the rest of the room. He gave them a curt nod and walked away.

* * *

Zen-Aku sat on the forest floor in his usual meditative position. That voice had returned, calling out to him the moment he leapt from the Eagle's back. He'd almost broken his leg from the distraction. He needed to find its source. He blocked out the wind, the sound of the leaves, the smell of prey. He dove deep inside himself, finding his center.

There was no sound or smell to indicate the other person's arrival, but Zen-Aku felt it as clearly as he felt his own body. His eyes snapped open and he saw Casey sitting calmly across from him on the forest floor, mimicking his position.

"How--?" Zen-Aku breathed.

Casey's eyes opened slowly and Zen-Aku hid his surprise at seeing those tiger eyes where human ones should have been.

"What are you doing?" Casey asked. His voice was calm, friendly and without even a hint of malice.

"What I was born to do."

"But you've come so far. You were our friend, our master -- you have to fight this."

Zen-Aku bent his head like an animal preparing to pounce. "I do not answer to you."

Casey just stared at him sadly. After a moment he said, "You could be so much more."

Zen-Aku let out a howl and his eyes snapped open. There were no echoes of his cry in the trees and he realized that the entire encounter took place in his own mind. How long did it take to digest a tiger's soul anyway?


	7. Chapter 7

**The Return**

**Chapter 7**

Theo realized only after storming out of JKP that he had no money and nowhere to go. He knew that he at least needed to get out of Ocean Bluff. He didn't want to ignore his duties as a ranger, but he couldn't stay. There was no way he'd beat Zen-Aku on his own and the others weren't about to help him. He would return to the academy, try to explain to the other masters that Mao was wrong about RJ. It wasn't the best plan but it was the only one he could come up with. He sighed. His steps had taken him to the highway, the road out of town. He would have to head into the nearby trees before ninja streaking away. As turned he heard the sound of screeching tires, blaring horns, metal hitting metal, and a sickening silence.

Theo was running across the road before he even knew what had happened. The first car must have stopped suddenly because the second had been driven on top of it and a truck had crashed into both of them, sending them skidding up the road. The truck and its driver were fine, just shaken, it was the other vehicles that Theo raced towards. Traffic had practically stopped after the accident and Theo snapped at one of the gawkers to call 911.

He assessed the situation quickly. The skeleton of the first car was crushed tight and he couldn't even see through the windows, but the second car was fine, not drivable but fine. He climbed up to the door and saw that the driver was alone and unconscious. She was his mother's age and wore the same hairstyle. He reached through the broken window and unlocked the door. Only after he unbuckled the woman's seatbelt did he realize that he had no way of getting her safely to the ground.

"Here," a voice beneath him said. He looked down to see a man standing, with arms outstretched to receive the woman. Theo carefully pulled her out and eased her down. Once he was sure the woman was being taken care of he climbed down to examine the bottom car.

"There are two children in the back seat," the man said, stepping up beside Theo. "The second care will have to be lifted off or they might be crushed."

"If they aren't already," Theo muttered. "I guess that means we have to --" He was going to say, "wait for emergency crews," but stopped when he saw the wolf zord gently lifting the car in its teeth. "What the --?"

The man ignored him and simply started pulling the car door open. Theo figured that at this point a little ranger power wouldn't be too out of place and used his jaguar strength to help. The children both had broken bones and concussions, but the medics who showed up said they would probably be fine. Their father was fine save for a cracked rib and a nasty cut on the head -- they were lucky.

"Thanks," Theo said, shaking the man's hand once they'd inconspicuously separated themselves from the crowd.

"All in a day's work. You're one of the new rangers," he said, noting Theo's sunglasses.

Theo nodded.

"I'm Merrick."

"Theo."

"Where are you going, Theo? The evil's back that way."

Theo crossed his arms, eying the man's motorcycle which was also pointing out of town. "Where are you going?"

"To defeat Zen-Aku. Wanna help?"

Theo blinked rapidly before smiling with a nod. Finally, a ranger who knew what needed to be done.

* * *

Lily stepped slowly up to her door. She was almost afraid to open it but she needed a shower and a change of clothes. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open, hoping against hope that Casey would tell her to go away and let him sleep. He didn't. She could see his dark silhouette against the pale glow of her nightlight. She crossed the room and took his hand, her fingers brushing his wrist. She needed to feel his pulse, to see his chest rise and fall, even if only for a moment.

"Casey," she said, sinking into the chair Shayla had left beside the bed. "Casey, please. I know you probably can't hear me but we need you to come back. Everything's so wrong. We need our Red Ranger."

* * *

Casey calmly sat across from RJ, watching him meditate. The man was trying to ignore him but Casey could feel the anger coming from him. Casey looked down at his hand sharply. He could feel something there, like he was being touched. And there was something else -- a pinpoint of light just on the edge of his awareness, which meant it was on the edge of RJ's awareness. The master's eyes snapped open and Casey ignored the horrific yellow eyes that had replaced his human ones in this world. A wicked grin spread across RJ's face as the point became more distinct.

"Someone's eager to join you," RJ said.

They both leapt up at the same moment, just as Lily appeared in the clearing.

"What?" she asked as Casey pushed her behind him, blocking RJ's attack with all the strength he could muster. RJ fell back to observe the panting Casey and the utterly confused Lily.

"RJ?" she said, looking at his eyes. "Casey?"

"Lily, what are you doing here?" Casey asked, keeping his eyes on RJ.

"I- I don't -- where are we?"

"In my mind," RJ said and Lily fell back a step at the animalistic tone of his voice. "I didn't think you'd be so eager to come, Lily. If I'd known I would have --"

"Stop it!" Casey cried. "RJ, why are you doing this? Lily's your student! You would never hurt her! You're better than this, RJ, please."

RJ glared down at the boy. "That is not my name!" he yelled, each word emphasized with greater intensity until the last was a howl that shook the whole of this world.

Casey grabbed Lily's hand and ran. He realized as she held on that she was what he had felt before -- what he could still feel.

"Casey!" Lily cried, pulling her hand back and forcing him to stop. "What is going on?"

Casey looked up at her then back to his hand. "Lily," he said, putting her hands on his shoulders, "you have to let go."

"What?" she asked, closing her Cheetah eyes. "What are you talking about? What's going on here?"

Casey sighed. "Exactly what RJ said, we're inside his mind."

"Casey," Lily said, holding onto Casey's arm, "do you know -- who RJ really is?"

"Zen-Aku?" She looked up at him sharply. "Of course," he said with a smile. "You learn a few things about a guy when he eats you. Now, Lily," he said, his tone becoming more serious, "you need to let go."

She dropped her hand in confusion and he shook his head fiercely. He could hear RJ searching for them and it was taking all the strength Casey had just to shield them from him.

"Lily!" RJ's call echoed through the trees, almost -- _almost_ -- sounding like the old RJ. "Come out, come out wherever you are!" He paused for a moment, then there was a ferocious growl that barely sounded like a voice at all, "Or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your forest down!"

"It's his forest," Casey hissed. "Listen, Lil," he said, keeping his voice low, "tell the others that I'm trying to get through to him here but they can't use either of us as an excuse not to fight him. If he's going to hurt people he needs to be stopped, okay?"

Lily nodded.

"Now, Lily, let go."

"What?"

"Let go of me."

There was a shudder in the bushes behind Casey and he turned, hearing RJ's heavy breathing from just beyond.

"Lily, you have to let go!"

He pushed her back just as RJ came running at them.

"Let go now!"

* * *

Lily sat up with a start, her hand raised high above her head. She looked down at Casey's hand, now falling over the side of the bed. She moved it onto his chest, careful only to touch his sleeve as she did so. She gave a weak smile before gathering her bath things. He was alive, even if he wasn't in his body, and that was all she needed to know. What he'd said -- about not holding back just because of him and RJ -- well, she'd just keep that to herself because no one hurt her family, not even her family.


	8. Chapter 8

_Oh my goodness! I have failed you all! I am so sorry! I don't know what happened with the stupid document thing and the **evil!** But this chapter got very messed up when I uploaded it the first time. I am so so so so sorry. I don't quite know what went wrong but you can probably live without rereading this chapter. I'm formating all the remaining chapters now so hopefully the problem will be solved. Also, I was so horrified that I deleted this chapter (which is why you all got another alert for it). Sorry for that too._

_AN: So, I'm taking my knowledge of ... um, the new villain from various sources, including Edith Hamilton's Mythology, the Everworld series, and Wikipedia. If you ever get confused about how things work -- well, first wait for chapter 9, then if you're still confused try Wikipedia or ask. I'm always happy to answer questions._

**The Return**

**Chapter 8**

They drove all night, but night seemed to last a lot longer than it should have for some reason and now every time Theo looked down at his watch it read a different time -- not a reasonable different time, no, a completely illogical time. First it said 5:41, then 2:19, then 9:58, and it kept going like that. And the road they were on wasn't so much a road as a long strip of dirt that was relatively smooth. His tail bone was sure to be cracked by the time they stopped. Finally the road ended but Theo was not happy with where. Snow was falling around them despite the fact that it was June in California -- at least Theo thought they were still in California -- and before them was a mountain, dark and grey despite the snow covering the ancient stones. The road led into the mountain, into a cave that looked like the mountain was yawning in anticipation of a good sleep or a good meal.

Merrick stepped forward without preamble.

"Well?" he called, pausing at the cave entrance to look back.

"What are we doing here?" Theo asked.

"What must be done."

Merrick stepped forward and the shadows of the cave seemed to swallow him whole. Theo wasted only a second calming his childish fear of the dark before barreling in after him. Theo ran right into Merrick's back and the warrior let out a low shushing sound. Theo nodded, looking over the man's shoulder. He was surprised to see firelight cast on the walls, it was coming from beyond a bend in the cavern but Merrick did not seem eager to go there. Theo could sense the trepidation in the man and was about to question the wisdom of even being there when Merrick surged forward. Theo hurried after him but froze at the turn when he saw what lay beyond. A massive wolf, big as his own zord, was curled around a fire pit, seemingly dozing. Merrick walked purposefully forward, stopping mere feet from the wolf's maw. It could have eaten him in one bite.

"Fenrir!" Merrick said, his voice firm and filling the whole cavern.

The wolf's eyes opened and Theo was struck by the depth of them. It lifted its massive head to look at him for a moment and Theo felt as though the ground had dropped out beneath him. In those eyes he could see --

"Stop it!" Merrick ordered.

The wolf's gaze slid down to Merrick and Theo fell against the wall, trying to catch his breath. He tried to push down the images he had seen, images of death and destruction, of the entire world going black and --

"Merrick," the wolf said, its voice like a growl. Theo was thankful for the interruption to his thoughts and only now that he could look at the wolf without its eyes on him did he see the collar around its neck and the flimsy ribbon that he thought would never be able to hold the beast to the wall.

"I have need of Gleipnir."

The wolf seemed to cock an eyebrow. "Take it, if you can. You will be doing me a great service." It laid down its head on its paws once more and closed its eyes.

Merrick reached out toward the wolf but pulled back. "This is not the time."

The wolf opened its eyes. "No? You are here, you are going to release me. It feels like time."

"I am going to release you from Gleipnir, not Drómi."

"Without Gleipnir I can leave this cave. Even with Drómi I could cause quite a bit of mischief."

"Why? Why do you have to --?"

The wolf snapped its jaws at him but Merrick did not move away. "Shouldn't you be asking Zen-Aku these questions instead of trying to undo events which were foretold long before even your time?"

Merrick's shoulders seemed to sag a bit. "I must stop Zen-Aku, and to do that I need Gleipnir, but I will not release you to harm this world."

"Then you cannot take Gleipnir," Fenrir said calmly, returning to his rest.

"I offer you a deal." When he knew he had the monster's attention he continued, "I will take Gleipnir and you will remain here. Once Zen-Aku is dealt with, I will return to this place and serve you."

Fenrir considered the warrior for a moment.

"Service to a god, even a caged god, is not to be taken lightly."

Merrick nodded. "I know, but I cannot allow Zen-Aku to continue this way. Do you agree?"

"No!" Theo cried, managing to take only one step before Fenrir's eyes found him once again. He looked away quickly, his feet turning to lead beneath him.

Fenrir sniffed the air. "A Jaguar. You don't see many of them this far north. What is this to you, boy?"

Theo kept his eyes down as he said, "Zen-Aku was my master. I want to stop his evil from spreading further."

Fenrir smiled at the anger in his tone. "Do you now?"

"Leave him alone," Merrick snapped.

Fenrir obliged. "You will serve me?"

"Yes," Merrick said, his voice tight.

"You have three mortal days to return or I will come for you." Fenrir leaned forward and bit Merrick's shoulder lightly, but even a light wound from a twenty-foot tall wolf was enough to send Merrick to his knees. Blood poured from a ring around his shoulder and Theo rushed forward to help him up. Merrick ordered him back and, with much effort, stood. He untied the ribbon from around the collar and ripped it from the wall.

"Come," Merrick grunted, walking as steadily as he could from the cave. His motorcycle was waiting where he left it and none of the falling snow had touched it.

"What was that all about?" Theo asked.

"There's a -- first aid kit -- in the pack," Merrick ground out, settling on the ground beside the bike.

Theo quickly pulled the kit out and found nothing but a couple of spider-man Band-Aids and a note that read:

__

Merrick,

Sorry, we spotted your bike in New York and there was this mishap with Cole and a squirrel and the Central Park Mounties and we sort of used up all our medical supplies. We figured you'd remember to restock before we would so we're switching with you! Sorry we couldn't talk, we're sort of still on the run from the cops.

Love,

Danny, Max, Cole, and the horrified Alyssa

"Um, Merrick, I think there's a problem."

He handed Merrick the note and the man laughed. "Taylor'll get a kick out of that. You know how to drive a motorcycle?"

"What? No!"

"You're going to learn." Merrick slowly pushed himself up, careful to keep hold of the ribbon. "Rule one: if I start letting go of you even the tiniest bit, you stop and pull over because I'm either going to pass out or puke or both."

* * *

Lily's day was not going well. She had awakened on her yoga mat, not the most comfortable place to sleep, to the sound of Taylor and Eric being way too friendly for six o'clock in the morning. They weren't doing anything really, just being much more lovey-dovey than she had ever thought either of them could be, but the hour was what was getting to her. She rolled over, only to find Camille sleeping on a yoga mat three feet away. She screamed, jumped to her feet, fell into a defensive stance, and promptly realized that Camille was on their side now -- if only momentarily.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Lily asked. "I left the hammock free for a reason." Taylor and Eric had no qualms about taking RJ's bed, leaving the living room free for the two enemies.

"I spent ten thousand years in a wall," Camille said drolly, "sleeping on the floor isn't much different and it's not like we have the funds to buy those special mattresses with the numbers or the ones that you can drop a bowling ball on or --"

"Camille? You're rambling."

"Oh."

"You really want a proper bed, don't you?"

"No," Camille said superiorly and waltzed into the bathroom first.

Lily sighed, deciding that personal grooming could wait. She checked on Casey once before heading downstairs to get ready for the day.

"Hi, Fran," Lily said, opening the back door for the other girl.

"Hey, Lily, how's RJ today?"

Lily froze, her hand just short of the pizza dough. "Not good."

"Oh, well I hope he gets better soon!"

"So do I. Hey, Fran?"

Fran looked up from the sauce she'd started making.

"Theo quit."

"What! So it's just you and me and Casey?"

Lily shrugged slightly. "No, see, Casey's -- sick."

Fran fell back against the island. "How are just us going to -- I mean I know that I have to do a lot of it myself, but you guys are never gone _all_ day and --"

"We can do it, Fran. We have to."

Fran nodded and the two continued the morning's prep. Lily was actually pretty confident with how things were going. Finally, something in her life was going well, it just figured it would be the pizza parlor.

"Lily?" Fran asked, walking back into the kitchen. She was supposed to be refilling the salt shakers.

"Yeah, Fran?" Lily asked, digging her elbow into the dough.

"There's some girl sitting in one of the booths. She says you let her in, her name's Camille."

Lily choked and rushed out into the restaurant, only to find a very blonde Camille perusing the menu in the corner booth.

"We need to talk," Camille said.

Lily sighed. "It's okay, Fran, she's a -- friend."

Camille looked up sharply at the word but gave Fran a less-than-sincere smile as Lily sank into the booth. Fran nodded and went to finish the prep.

"What's up?" Lily asked, taking off her hat and running a hand through her hair.

"You don't feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"Some dark energy's been released -- some really big dark energy."

Lily's eyes widened. "You think Zen-Aku had anything to do with it?"

"No, he's powerful, but he's not about to release anything more powerful than him."

"More powerful?" Lily moaned.

"The only problem is -- it's not moving. It's just sort of -- sitting there."

"Why would some super powerful evil just sit there after it's set free?"

Camille raised an eyebrow. "I can think of only one reason: it's powerful enough that it can take its time destroying us."

Lily let that sink in; not the terrifying part, the "us" part. She gave Camille the best smile she could muster. "We'll win, you'll see."

"How do you do that?"

Lily blinked but made no further reply.

"How do you take the worst news possible and turn around with a positive attitude?"

"It's called optimism. It's very useful."

"I'll bet. Is that how you always get back up after I've beaten you?"

"Pretty much."

Camille gave a long sigh and looked out the stained glass window. People were beginning their days, unaware of the plans and burdens held by the little restaurant.

"We'll stop Zen-Aku," Lily said, "and we'll stop him from hurting Dai Shi too."

Camille turned back to Lily with the smallest of smiles. "Thank you."

Lily shrugged and slid out of the booth. "That's what friends are for."

"We're not friends," Camille called as Lily walked away.

The girl turned back around with a small laugh. "Just wait, we might be."

Camille frowned and went back to examining the specials.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: So, after the horror of yesterday, I really hate to do this but chapters will come slower now. I'm going home today and internet access isn't readily available. Sorry again for yesterday's chaos.

**The Return  
**

**Chapter 9**

"Are you sure you're going to be all right?" Theo asked.

Merrick had signaled for him to pull over just outside of Reefside.

"Fine," the man growled, gently touching his shoulder. He'd pulled off his jacket and shirt once he'd found a reasonably comfortable seat on the grass and Theo was surprised to see that the bleeding had stopped. The scabs left behind were already healing into a large scar. "But we need to talk."

"About what?" Theo asked, sitting across from the man.

"About your hatred towards RJ. I need to know why."

"He's a monster."

"We are all monsters, if only given the chance. You should remember that."

Theo tensed but didn't say any more.

"What were you doing out alone on the highway? I can't believe Shayla and Taylor would let you run off alone while Zen-Aku was on the loose."

"Zen-Aku's been on the loose for years!"

"While Zen-Aku was evil and loose, then," Merrick amended. "Now answer my question."

"I left."

"Why?"

"Because they're wrong! Zen-Aku isn't worth saving and there is no reason for us to help Camille save Dai Shi from him."

Merrick looked the boy up and down, his gaze so intense that Theo started to fidget.

"When did the first rangers appear, as far as you know?"

"Nineteen ninety-three, in Angel Grove."

Merrick nodded. "And how many of them were there?"

"Five -- at first. Then the Green Ranger showed up."

"What made him different?"

"He -- he tried to destroy the others."

Merrick nodded. "And eventually they accepted him as part of their team. That one evil ranger went on to hold five different powers, four different colors. He's one of the most famous rangers in the galaxy. You know the Ninja Rangers, right?"

Now that Theo could see where this conversation was going he was becoming very uncomfortable. "Our school works with theirs sometimes."

"Only one ranger on that team ever escaped turning evil." Merrick let that hang for a moment before continuing. "Astronema, the Princess of Evil? She became the Pink Galaxy Ranger when Kendrix died. The Titanium Ranger from Mariner Bay was raised to hate his father and sister. He had to work past those emotions before he could help his team."

Theo took a deep, meditative breath. "All right, I get it. No matter how horrible a person is, they can still be redeemed."

"Yes. As a ranger you need to remember that you can never stop fighting for those around you, even your enemies."

"So I have to play nice with Camille?"

"Yes," Merrick said, holding back a laugh. He remembered Camille from the great war all those millennia ago. Playing nice with her would be a test of Theo's tolerance.

Theo sighed gruffly and nodded to the ribbon still clutched in Merrick's hand. "What is that thing anyway?"

"Gleipnir," Merrick said. "It was forged to hold Fenrir. Legend has it he's going to bring about the Norse equivalent of the apocalypse. The gods made a collar for him -- Lœðingr -- but he managed to break free of it. So they forged another -- Drómi -- that's the one he's wearing now."

"Lœðingr's the collar RJ had hidden in his chair and it weakened him, but what good will having Gleipnir do?"

"Lœðingr weakens, Gleipnir will allow us to hold him."

Theo shook his head. "But what good will that do? He'll still be evil and in three days you'll have to go back to Fenrir."

"First, don't tell anyone about my deal with that monster. I mean it, not a soul. And second, one thing at a time. Zen-Aku's strong, he'll come out of his, I know he will." He allowed himself a small smile which Theo tried his best to return.

* * *

Casey struggled to control his breathing. He really hated this. He didn't even know why he was trying to breathe at all, but he supposed it was force of habit. RJ stood over him, growling intensely. Casey pushed himself up on his elbows.

"What are you going to do -- eat me?"

RJ's expression faltered. "Why are you still here? You should have disappeared days ago."

Casey gave his master a long look. "I'm not going to let you die, not if I can help it."

RJ barked out a laugh. "What makes you think I'm going to die?" His humor died when he saw the forlorn look in Casey's tiger eyes.

"They can't let you hurt people, you know that."

"They are weak! Just like you."

Casey didn't rise to the bait, instead he asked, "What was your childhood like?"

"What?"

"Your human childhood. What was it like?"

RJ sniffed. "Lots of children grow up in the academy, either their spirit manifests early in life or their parents studied there, like my father."

"Does he know who you are?"

"He doesn't like it, but he can't really do anything about it, now can he?" After a beat of silence he asked, "What about your childhood, _cub_? Did your daddy go to the academy too?"

"My father died. He never went to the academy, neither of my parents did, but he fought back during the Countdown."

RJ rose quickly and returned to the real world, disturbed by what the boy had said. Casey slowly moved into a meditative stance. He needed to refocus. He was a spirit, his body was safe with Lily and he shouldn't be feeling this sort of pain. He needed to separate himself from those sorts of instincts. He winced as a shadow passed over him. He could hear voices calling him but he pushed them away. He wasn't ready to go, RJ needed him. He had to get through to the man because he'd be damned if he'd lose another father.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Return**

**Chapter 10**

It was well after closing by the time Theo and Merrick arrived at Jungle Karma Pizza. Theo quietly let them in the back door with the key he had conveniently forgotten to return before storming out.

"We have to hurry," Merrick said, the pain in his shoulder now completely gone, "we've already lost a day."

"What will happen when you go back to him?" Theo asked as they hurried up the stairs.

"You let me worry about that."

"But--" Theo's argument was cut off by the appearance of a sword at his throat. He carefully looked up the arm that held it and saw Camille.

"I told you I heard an intruder," she said.

Lily flicked on the light and gave out a girlish squeal of glee when she saw Theo. She rushed to hug him while Camille let the sword disappear.

"When did you get a sword?" Merrick asked, coming up the stairs behind Theo.

Camille smiled when she saw him. "A girl's got to be prepared for any occurrence, Merrick."

A loud smack filled the room and Lily yelled, "You idiot! You decide to run away when the whole world's falling apart?"

"Sorry," Theo said, rubbing the side of his head. "But I brought a new friend."

Lily smiled at Merrick but it fell quickly when she saw his bloodstained shirt. "Wha--?"

"What is going on out here?" Taylor growled, emerging from RJ's bedroom as she tied a yellow robe on. "Merrick!" she said with a smile when she saw him. She gave Eric a look and he disappeared as she went to hug Merrick. "You really need to keep in touch more."

"Sorry," Merrick said, which they both knew he was not.

"Merrick," Shayla said with more calm than anyone had thought she would.

Eric passed her by to go stand by Taylor and give Shayla and Merrick their space. Taylor pulled a twig out of Eric's hair which he threw to the ground. "Your princess sleeps on the roof," he said.

"She likes animals," Taylor said with a shrug before ushering Camille, Lily, and Theo down to the restaurant.

"You're hurt," Shayla said and took a step forward, her hand moving towards his shoulder before she could stop herself.

"It's fine," he said, stepping back and holding up Gleipnir.

Her hand dropped. "How did you -- ? Merrick, what have you done?"

"What I had to," he said firmly.

"The last time you did what you had to you were possessed by an evil mask and imprisoned for several thousand years."

Merrick flinched at her tone. "We have to stop him. I owe him whatever I can --"

"You owe him?" She shook her head. "Merrick, I know that he is good, I know that he has changed his ways but there is no way in this world or any other that you owe him."

"I'm the reason he changed!" Merrick cried. "I'm the one who showed him that there was another way. I have to help him."

"Yes, you have to help him, but because he is our friend and for no other reason." She quickly stepped up to him and laid a hand on the dried blood covering his shoulder. "What did you do?"

He put his free hand over hers and she looked up to meet his eyes. "I got Gleipnir. That is all that matters."

Her eyes darkened and she pulled the ribbon from his hand. "It had better be," she said and stormed down the stairs.

Merrick stared after her, hoping against hope that it would be.

* * *

Casey ran through the forest, wishing that RJ's mind had taken the form of a nice munitions depot where he could find lots of useful weapons instead of this ancient forest. Ninjas liked forests. He spared a glance towards the sky where he could see what RJ saw. There, beyond the clouds, was a disturbingly askew version of Ocean Bluff's skyline. He wondered if RJ was planning to destroy it. Casey looked back at the path before him too late. He tripped -- how could he trip when he didn't even have a body? -- and found himself surrounded by ninjas.

"No," he said, trying to stay calm. "I can't go yet."

One of them stepped forward, reaching a hand towards Casey's face. He reeled back. "He needs me! Please!"

The ninjas froze and as one turned to look deeper into the woods. Casey breathed a sigh of relief as they turned to dust and blew away on the wind. They couldn't touch him while RJ was there, they couldn't risk being exposed, and that would give him a little more time.

"I just wanted to let you know," RJ said, walking up to Casey until they were mere inches apart, "today I'm going to kill Lily."

Casey said nothing. RJ growled and turned to walk away.

"You won't hurt her."

RJ froze and turned slowly to face his former student. "And why not? You think Theo is going to stop me?"

"You won't hurt her because she's your cub."

RJ let out a harsh laugh. "I hurt you, didn't I?"

Casey shook his head. "That was different."

"How?" RJ asked, walking forward so he could more clearly sense Casey's emotions. "How was that different than this? I'm the same person I was that day. What has changed?"

"That night --" Casey said, pausing to push down the memories of his own terror, "that night you were afraid. You had been injured, caged, and had every bad memory of what you'd done in the past thrown back in your face. You were an animal trying to protect itself. Now you're aware, you know what you're doing and you will not harm her."

RJ smiled. "Tell yourself that, little Casey, tell yourself that and maybe I'll let you see through my eyes while I gut her."


	11. Chapter 11

**The Return**

**Chapter 11**

"He's back," Camille said, sitting up in her chair just before the alarms went off.

"Do you all know what you have to do?" Eric asked. Lily and Theo nodded and Camille gripped Lœðingr tightly. "Let's go."

The rangers and Camille hurried to the rock quarry where Zen-Aku was calmly sitting. Apparently, he didn't want to give them any chance to surprise him.

"I was wondering if you'd ever show up," Zen-Aku said, rising to his feet. His eyes found Lily's. "Your little visit got poor little Casey hurt quite a lot, you know."

"Visit?" Theo asked.

"It's nothing," Lily said, keeping her eyes focused on Zen-Aku and fighting to keep her expression neutral. She wouldn't tell the others what she'd seen because she knew they'd ask what Casey had said and she couldn't tell them that.

Zen-Aku looked at the newest member of the group and the man stepped forward from behind Eric.

"Hello, old friend," Merrick said.

"I wondered when you'd come."

Merrick simply nodded and Zen-Aku rushed forward. None of the rangers morphed but fought him hand to hand. Zen-Aku blocked Eric's kick and threw him into a pile of rocks before catching Taylor's punches and sending her after him. Once they were down Camille backed away in fear.

"I'm out of here," she said and disappeared.

Zen-Aku rolled his eyes. She would have been easily defeated anyway. Theo tried to use the swoop technique but Zen-Aku leapt up above him and knocked him into the ground. Lily winced at the sickening crack that accompanied his fall. Zen-Aku smiled at her. She growled and attacked. He easily dodged her jabs and punches and was glad to see her becoming frustrated with his toying. He kicked her back several feet and used the time it took her to rise to make sure Casey was watching from within his mind. When Lily made to attack with her bandaged arm he grabbed it, twisting it and digging his claws into the still healing wounds. She cried out and fell to her knees.

"Look at me, Lily," he said and she did. He smiled in anticipation of the kill and at the sound of Casey raging at him from within. The boy wouldn't hinder him this time. He lifted his arm and called on his powers, forming a claw over his human hand. Lily looked between the claw and him and -- no! She was looking too quickly as if trying not to see something! He threw her down and whirled. Several yards behind him was Merrick, holding Gleipnir. He had barely enough time to register that before Camille appeared at his side and slid Lœðingr over his head. Merrick snapped the ribbon at him like a whip and it easily twined around the collar as if made to be there. Zen-Aku fell to the ground unable to stay conscious under the force of the ancient magics.

Taylor and Eric stumbled over while Theo joined Merrick in lifting Zen-Aku up.

"Are you all right?" Lily looked up and smiled at a very blonde Camille's hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be fine," she said, gently feeling her now bloody bandages. "The important thing is getting RJ and Casey back."

Camille helped her to her feet. "Do you really think you can restore RJ to the man he was or that Casey will find his way back to his body?"

"Casey's body is still alive," Lily said, thankful for Camille's supporting shoulder as they walked, "that alone gives me hope. And as for RJ -- he came back from that once, he can do it again."

Camille nodded, not quite believing her sincerity.

"Hey," Lily said, reaching up to flick a strand of blonde hair, "what's up with the disguise?"

"The rangers just had a battle," Camille said as if it should be obvious, "you think Dai Shi wasn't watching?"

"He can't tell it's you with the different hair? Some boyfriend."

"He is not my boyfriend," Camille said, but there wasn't nearly enough force behind the words.

Lily nudged her gently. "It'll work out, you'll see."

"But not for you," Camille thought.


	12. Chapter 12

****

The Return

**Chapter 12**

"How is this helpful?" Theo asked.

"When did we get a dungeon?" Lily said, watching Zen-Aku sleep. They were in the Jungle Karma Pizza basement which, it turned out, was dominated by a large prison cell.

"Oh we built it," Eric said. "We always sort of figured RJ'd have to use it for something. He has a lot of enemies."

"Yeah, like all of you," Camille said. "What?" she asked when they all turned to glare. "You know it's true."

Taylor sighed and turned to Shayla. "What are we going to do about Casey?"

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this. We can only hope that Zen-Aku will know some way to help him."

As if in response Zen-Aku flinched.

"What are we going to do with him?" Theo asked.

"We wait until he wakes up," Eric said, "then we talk to him, try to remind him who he really is."

As the rangers and Shayla began discussing a strategy for getting through to Zen-Aku Camille slunk up the stairs and out the back door into the alleyway.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

Merrick, who had been attempting to roll his bike farther up the street before leaving, froze. He sighed and turned to face Camille. "What's it to you?"

"It's not, I just wanted to know what idiotic thing you're up to."

"What makes you think it's idiotic?"

"You're sneaking away and it's you -- only a fool puts on a cursed mask."

Merrick shot her a glare and pushed the motorcycle out into the street. Over his shoulder he called, "You and Lily seemed to be getting along well. Too bad you're mortal enemies. A good friend is hard to find."

Camille disappeared just as he revved up his engine.

* * *

Zen-Aku sat at the base of a tree, his head in his hands.

"RJ."

Zen-Aku growled but didn't look up.

"RJ, please!"

There was a desperation in the boy's voice that hadn't been there since he'd been separated from his body and Zen-Aku couldn't help but raise his head. Casey's tiger eyes were wide with concern and -- fear?

"RJ, you need to fight the evil."

"It's who I am," Zen-Aku said.

Casey hung his head as a chill filled the air. "They're coming," the boy whispered to himself, "they won't wait much longer and I can't fight them."

"Who?" Zen-Aku asked incredulously. They were inside his mind, nothing could touch them here.

Casey looked up at him. "Please," he said and Zen-Aku actually felt a pang of sympathy at the fear and desperation in the young man's voice, "I can't go until I know you're okay."

"What are you talking about?"

"You have to let it go, RJ. You've done horrible things, yes, but you can move on from them, become a better person."

"I canno--"

"You're a Pai Zhuq master, you took in three scared kids without any hesitation, you gave a job to a nice girl who really just needed a friend. You're a good guy, RJ, regardless of what you used to be or what Camille's spell has had you doing. And I know that when push comes to shove you're going to do the right thing."

* * *

Shayla screamed.

"What's wrong?" Taylor asked, kneeling by the princess's side.

Lily and Theo, who had both fallen out of their hammocks, stayed a respectful distance back.

"Merrick," Shayla gasped, "he's in terrible danger."

"What?" Eric asked.

"How do you know?" Lily said, kneeling down.

"I can feel it. He's -- I don't know. But he's hurt badly and he's not safe."

"Fenrir," Theo said.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Merrick made a deal with Fenrir to get Gleipnir."

"He what?" Taylor cried, jumping to her feet.

"Do you know how to get there?" Eric asked.

"I -- no."

"I do," Shayla said, rising with Lily's help. "We have to hurry."

"What about Zen-Aku?" Lily asked.

"We'll have to leave him," Taylor said. "It's not like he can cause much damage while he's caged and we don't have any other choice. It'll take all of us to beat him."

As Lily wrote a note for Fran, Eric pulled Taylor aside. "You really think we'll be enough?" he asked.

Taylor watched Theo and Lily. "Call Wes, tell him what's going on. Just in case."

Eric nodded, pulling out his phone.

"And Eric?" Taylor called quietly. "Tell the boys I love them."

Eric smiled and pulled her into a half hug, kissing her on the top of her head.

* * *

Zen-Aku smiled to himself. The rangers were long gone -- no doubt to their doom at Fenrir's claws -- and he could still hear Fran moving about upstairs. He let out a strangled cry, which wasn't too hard considering that the collar and chain were extremely painful. After the third cry he heard Fran's footsteps crossing to the top of the stairs. The door creaked open and she called down, "Hello?"

"Fran?" he whimpered, ashamed that it hadn't been an act.

Fran rushed down and gasped when she saw him. "RJ? What's going on?"

He could practically hear the cogs moving in her head, going through all the unappealing explanations.

"When -- when I get sick, I tend to sleepwalk -- and hallucinate," he added for good measure. He gestured to the cage, "This is here so I don't go out into traffic."

Fran nodded slowly, not quite believing him. He noted the mixed look of fright and worry in her eyes as she examined Lœðingr and Gleipnir.

"Fran? You let me out of here so I can go to the bathroom and I'll never ask you to come down here ever again."

"No discussion either?"

"I'll tell the others this place is taboo. So, please?"

He nodded to the key hanging on the wall behind her. He was actually pretty disappointed in Taylor. She should have known better than to leave the key so close to the cage. Fran hurriedly unlocked the door and then knelt beside him.

"Just pull it off," he said. "It comes off real --" He sighed as the weight was lifted from his shoulders. "Thank you," he muttered, his eyes closing contentedly.

There was a chime upstairs from the door. "I'd better get that," Fran said, scurrying away.

Zen-Aku watched her go. She was lucky. If she'd stayed a minute longer…. He stalked up the stairs then into the loft. He wasn't surprised to find Casey's body lying in Lily's bed, but he was surprised to see that the body was sweating. He could hear the heart going a mile a minute and the breathing was ragged and uneven.

"What the --?"

* * *

Casey looked around him. Ghosts, spirits, whatever -- they were still really annoying. The figures were dressed in rags but all were more than adept at fighting.

"No," Casey said, "I can't. They still need me."

The figure closest to him nodded slowly and Casey swore he could hear the man say, "They always will -- just as our comrades needed us."

Two of the other figures took Casey's arms. He struggled briefly but his heart wasn't in it. He squared his shoulders and nodded slowly. When his head came back up the others were gone but Casey was no longer in the forest. He was on a cliff and waves were crashing far beneath him. He sighed and sat down, wrapping his arms around his knees. He'd known it was a possibility, but he never really thought he'd end up on this mountain.

* * *

Zen-Aku tensed, listening for anything, any sign of life in the body before him. None came. Not a heartbeat, not a small gasp for breath, nothing at all. He sat heavily down in the chair beside the bed and closed his eyes.

"Casey!" he called, appearing in the forest of his mind. "Casey!" he said more harshly. There was no answer and he could no longer feel the boy within his consciousness.

He lifted his head and looked at the body once more. A wave of guilt washed over him. Casey had always been different from the others. He was truly RJ's student. He'd spent barely any time in the academy and it was RJ who taught him most of what he knew. And now he was dead.

No! Zen-Aku stood so quickly that the chair fell to the floor. Casey was the Tiger. It didn't matter if he died, he was just another animal spirit. Just another creature he was meant to kill. But, that didn't stop the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

A howl echoed in RJ's mind. It was Merrick's Wolf zord. Which could only mean that Merrick was in trouble. RJ glanced down at Casey's body. He wasn't going to let his own actions cost anyone else their lives.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Return**

**Chapter 13**

Lily fell to one knee and released her Cheetah spirit as Eric fired his quantum blaster 2.0 straight at Fenrir's eyes. The beast laughed and knocked Lily's spirit away with so much force that she fell back. She staggered to her feet, knowing she couldn't take much more. She couldn't release her spirit again, which meant she was bound to physical attacks. Luckily, Merrick's Wolf zord was refusing to do his master's bidding and was instead fighting Merrick some distance away. But that was the only good news. Fenrir was more powerful than anything she'd ever faced. Even with Drómi still on him, Fenrir was easily beating them. They had arrived at the snowy mountain to find Merrick bowing before the wolf, who had apparently decided not to keep up his end of the bargain by staying in his cave. Now, to avoid an early apocalypse, they had to somehow stop Fenrir. He leapt into the air to take a bite out of the Eagle zord and the rangers scattered, none of them eager to be too close when he came back down. Lily watched the Eager wing into the nearby forest and was shaken to her core by the sight of those massive snow-covered trees being knocked down.

"Lily!" Theo's voice brought her attention back to the battle and she had only enough time to register Fenrir sprinting straight at her before she was hit -- in the right side. She fell into a patch of snow and Shayla rushed to help her up.

"What?" Lily asked, clutching her head.

"He always did know how to make an entrance," Taylor said.

"Show off," Eric muttered and Taylor laughed. That, more than anything else, was what forced Lily to shake off the stars clouding her vision.

Fenrir was talking and his voice echoed deep into her bones. "You think to defeat me, puny mortal?"

Who was he talking to? Lily squinted to see through the falling snow and her breath caught when she saw Zen-Aku. But there was something different, there was a humorous glint in his eye that was so decidedly RJ.

"Whoa," RJ said and Lily couldn't help but let out a small laugh of relief at the familiar tone of his voice, "you cannot be talking to me."

Fenrir let out a low chuckle.

"We're very much alike," RJ said, walking slowly around Fenrir, his arms open wide, "we're both wolves, we both know what it's like to bring pain and destruction to the world. What makes you think you can beat someone so much like yourself?"

Fenrir lowered his head to look in RJ's eyes. "What makes you think _you_ can?"

RJ smiled and leapt forward, delivering a nasty roundhouse kick to Fenrir's muzzle. There was a distinct crack when he connected and Fenrir's head turned to the side. He smiled back at Lily and Shayla before lunging at RJ, attempting to bite the man in half. Taylor and Eric rushed forward, attacking Fenrir from behind and Lily could see that his shoulders were shaking. He turned slowly and with great effort and soon she could see that RJ was grasping the wolf's massive jaws in either hand. His arms shuddered with the weight and his legs were about to give out. If Eric and Taylor didn't seriously injure the beast soon he would be done for. Lily started to get up to help but Shayla held her down.

"You're in no condition to fight anymore and with RJ here," she added, "I doubt the battle will last much longer."

Lily turned away from Shayla's shining eyes just in time to see Theo's Jaguar slam into Fenrir's side, throwing the wolf off of RJ. While Fenrir was momentarily down RJ rushed forward and leapt into the air faster than even Lily thought was possible. He vaulted off of Fenrir's neck and landed in a crouch. Fenrir howled to the heavens and reared up in an attempt to break Gleipnir but RJ held it tight. Eric and Taylor appeared at his sides, helping him grasp the ancient ribbon. The three of them somehow managed to pull the wolf back into his cave.

Theo collapsed into the snow bank beside Lily. "RJ's back," he said.

Lily nodded and put a hand to her head, the stars were still there but she was too happy to complain. Shayla stood suddenly and the cubs tilted their heads back to see the Wolf zord holding Merrick in its jaws.

"Good boy," Shayla said, patting the beast's muzzle. She looked down at the cubs. "I think we're done here. Give my best to Taylor and Eric?"

"Of course," Theo said, scampering to his feet. He bowed and Shayla laughed lightly. She curtseyed before climbing on the Wolf's back. The zord gave a mighty leap and was gone.

"Those two don't waste any time," Eric called and Taylor pushed him into the snow.

Lily and Theo rushed forward to greet RJ but he stepped back quickly, holding up his arms as if to defend himself. His earlier Zen master attitude was gone, replaced by a look of fear and sadness.

"Guys," he said, his words heavy in the air, "Casey's dead."

* * *

Casey walked slowly through the woods. He'd already circled the mountain's entire perimeter and was actually surprised that he hadn't been attacked yet. Who knew the Mountain of Lost Ninjas would be so mellow?

"There is no way back," a kind voice behind Casey said.

Casey didn't turn. "I know. But I'm pretty sure spending eternity here is gonna be boring."

"Casey --"

The boy whirled and Master Mao stepped back in shock. "Don't! Don't treat me like a cub! I understand. I know what's going on, I took on the responsibility knowing perfectly well that the end result might be this." His voice fell. "This is no more your fault than it is RJ's."

Master Mao stepped forward and laid heavy hands on the boy's shoulders. "I cannot stay here long, this mountain would like nothing more than to keep my soul here forever, but I will visit you when I can."

Casey smiled, allowing his earlier anger to dissipate. "On the upside, there are a lot of ninja masters here." He put his hands behind his head and started walking away. "I'm gonna learn a lot."

Master Mao smiled but it faltered quickly. The newest of his cubs certainly did not deserve such a fate, but it had been dealt him. He wondered how the others would fare, how RJ would fare.

* * *

RJ sat in his chair, his face haggard as he looked up at his two students.

"I understand," he said, "if you want to go. Master Phant lives close enough to the city and I'm sure Master Swoop would be willing --"

Lily's hand rested gently on his shoulder, forcing him to stop. "You are our master and we have been through way too much in the past few days for that to change too." She smiled at him but in her eyes he could see other emotions: sorrow -- for Casey he was sure -- and _fear_. He looked quickly away.

"Lily's right," Theo said, his voice thick with emotions he refused to acknowledge. "You're our master. You may not be perfect, but who is? And anyway," he shifted uncomfortably and RJ was glad he wasn't the only one having trouble with this situation, "you're trying and that's all we can ask."

Lily nodded enthusiastically. RJ gave her a small smile.

"Thank you both. I am honored." He attempted to give a half-bow from the chair but Lily jumped forward, wrapping her arms around him and crying.

"I'm sorry," she said into his shoulder. "It's just --"

RJ hesitantly wrapped an arm around her and motioned for Theo to join them. The boy did and RJ said, "It's okay to cry. It's the right time for that." Over his cubs' heads RJ's eyes drifted to Lily's door and a new wave of sorrow swept over him, causing tears to fall silently down his cheeks. He could feel Theo's sobs though the boy wasn't making much sound and squeezed the two tighter. They would have to move forward together, if they could at all.

* * *

Lily stood in her doorway. Casey's body had been returned to the academy and would be laid to rest in the temple. The washer downstairs moaned angrily. This was the third time she was washing her bedclothes, despite the fact that Taylor had bought her new ones before leaving. Lily walked forward and ran her hand along the new yellow comforter. She was sure it would be comfortable to sleep in but she just couldn't bear to climb into that bed. She was about to turn off her nightlight when something on the pillow caught her eye. It was a curve of white on the pale bedspread. She lifted it closer to the light and saw that it was a talon. She pocketed it, deciding to ask RJ about it in the morning. They all needed their rest now. As she left to join Theo on the hammocks in the common room, she didn't notice the shimmer of Camille's disappearance in the corner.

The End


End file.
